IBM & SAP Support Microsoft Standardization Move

Scott Fulton reports, “It’s perhaps the one way that database interaction can work reliably using any format, any server and any client on the Web today.”

Scott Fulton reports, “It’s perhaps the one way that database interaction can work reliably using any format, any server and any client on the Web today. It happens to be a protocol created by Microsoft. But in a symbol of how Microsoft is now perceived today as just another major player instead of a dominant force, the leading platform makers are joining Microsoft in a formal move to standardize OData, the Open Data Protocol.”

He continues, “The reason Microsoft and IBM are no longer fighting over this? The real competition is no longer just amongst these old-line technology companies, but largely between them and a new breed of competitors often based around new mobile devices and consumer platforms.”

Fulton goes on, “Nearly six years ago one of the most bitter standards battles in all of computing was fought between OASIS, caretaker of the OpenDocument format, and Microsoft. The issue was whether, by making the document formats for Microsoft Office available as open standards, the company was unfairly leveraging Office’s broad base of installation to unseat its only real competitor, the storage format behind OpenOffice.”